S1: Listen, how many of you understand that worship is not
S1: a spectator sport? It's a participatory sport that all of
S1: us ought to be engaged in worship.
S2: You're listening to Treasure Truth with pastor and author James Ford,
S2: junior senior pastor of the Christ Bible Church in Chicago.
S2: I'm Steve Hillard. Glad you're with us today. As we
S2: continue our look at Psalm 65 and a message called
S2: The Privilege of Worship. And pastor, I want to drill
S2: down just for a moment on the title of this message,
S2: The Privilege of Worship. Because I think sometimes we might
S2: hear that, well, this is an obligation that we're supposed
S2: to do, and it is in a sense. But, boy,
S2: help us get to the mindset that this is a
S2: privilege for us to do.
S1: Well, the best thing that I could say about that, Steve,
S1: is this If I had an invitation to a place
S1: where I felt that there was somebody that was a
S1: superior person in terms of their standing and their state,
S1: it would really, really be a privilege to be invited
S1: to come to that place. Now we as believers have
S1: been invited by the awesome Almighty God to come into
S1: his presence. Look, why in the world would someone as
S1: awesome as God want to have someone as depraved as
S1: I am to be in his presence? And then listen.
S1: Listen to the Scripture. Therefore, let us come boldly to
S1: the throne of grace, that we may find grace and
S1: mercy to help us in time of need. Now that's
S1: in the book of Hebrews. It was written to Jewish Christians.
S1: They must have gasped because they knew the picture was
S1: about the Holy of Holies, where only the High priest
S1: could go in once a year on Yom Kippur. October 10th, 1111.
S1: It's the month of Tishrei. On the Jewish calendar. And
S1: it's like what? We can go in every day at
S1: any time of day or night. Into what?
S2: And going boldly. Not with a rope tied around your ankle.
S1: Right. Or bells? Yeah. On. On the tassels of your
S1: high priestly robe. And it's like, why don't we understand?
S1: And you know, I tell you what brings it in context.
S1: Look at the persecuted church. And I have to hide
S1: and go in the woods and have house churches where
S1: they can't let anyone know where many of them are
S1: being martyred just for saying the name of Jesus Christ.
S1: I guarantee you, if they had what we have here
S1: in America. Oh, wow.
S2: Yeah.
S1: It'd be a blessing to them.
S2: Tool absolutely would. Well, this is a message entitled The
S2: Privilege of Worship. And we're going to be in Psalm
S2: 65 today. So if you can grab a Bible and
S2: join us there. Here is Pastor Ford.
S1: I've done chapel for about 18 or 19 of the
S1: professional football teams in our country. Every time I go,
S1: it's the only place I go where as big as
S1: I am, I feel like Pee-Wee Herman. I look at
S1: these athletes and I mean them. Some big corn fed boys,
S1: them offensive linemen and and, uh, I was with the
S1: Minnesota Vikings. I met the sinner. And, uh, he stood
S1: up and he just towered over me. How you doing?
S1: I said, I'm doing fine. Gotta try to equal him
S1: some kind of way. And sometimes when I'm with these teams,
S1: I'm not going to. I'm not going to kid you.
S1: I feel as out of place as a £500 man
S1: at a Jenny Craig reunion. And so normally what they'll
S1: do is, uh, it depends on what team. Some teams
S1: are real nice. Uh, so, like, when I first did
S1: the bears, I was in the owner's box. General. And man,
S1: that was that was nice. All the food that was
S1: in there, and it was all free. Shoot you. You know,
S1: I love that. And they'll give you two tickets. Some
S1: teams give you money and tickets and, uh, you know,
S1: I always like to do those teams. Uh, uh, so, so, uh, sometimes, uh,
S1: and they told me, they said, you know, I'm on a,
S1: a list. I said, well, I appreciate that because I
S1: asked them, when these teams come to town, why do
S1: they call me? And he said, you're on our A list.
S1: And I said, well, you have a A list. Yeah,
S1: you're on our A list. And I said, man, that's great.
S1: And so I made the A list. And what happens
S1: quite often is like when, uh, Coach Davis was the
S1: coach of the Cleveland Browns. He would fly me around
S1: the country to do chapels, and green Bay asked me
S1: to come up and do a Sunday night chapel, and
S1: they give me tickets to Monday Night Football game. That
S1: was in green Bay. And I thought, oh, wow. And
S1: I have a friend that I wanted to kind of
S1: say thank you to. So I said, look, I'm going
S1: to do the chapel, green Bay, and if you'll come, uh,
S1: they usually give me two tickets and they're usually pretty nice.
S1: If no, nowhere else. We're on a 50 yard line. Uh,
S1: you know, I'll get us a hotel room for the night.
S1: Not together. Separate, and we can go to Monday Night Football.
S1: He said, man, that's nice. So we we get up there,
S1: we we have chapel, meet some of the players and
S1: all that kind of stuff. And then we head to
S1: the hotel. We get to the hotel and I say,
S1: my name is Pastor James Ford Junior, have a reservation.
S1: And he said, oh yes, yes. Good to see Mr. Ford. And, uh,
S1: can I have your credit card and your license? And
S1: so I get my credit card and license. And he
S1: goes and does what they do with the credit card.
S1: He came back and he said, uh, I'm sorry, sir,
S1: but your card was declined. Now I wonder to myself,
S1: why does it always sound like he said, I'm sorry, sir,
S1: your card was declined. Yeah. And I said, oh, oh, oh,
S1: I don't know what's going on. So I gave him
S1: a second card. Brother green and he went and he
S1: came back and he said the same thing, sir. I'm
S1: sorry your card was declined. And so, you know, I
S1: only had one more. And I'm thinking, oh, man. So
S1: I'm looking at my friend and he's light skinned. So
S1: he was turning red for me and and so I
S1: gave my last card and I knew this card would
S1: go through. Same reason, you know, your card is going
S1: to go through sometimes. Why? Because I just made the
S1: payment on that card. And so I said I just
S1: made the payment on this card. This one will go through.
S1: He didn't say anything when he came back. He just said,
S1: uh uh uh uh, and and so now, you know,
S1: I'm totally embarrassed. What are we going to do all
S1: of a sudden? My friend throws a black card up
S1: on the counter. Now, I had never seen a black card. Uh,
S1: I didn't know what a black card was, but I
S1: knew it had to be something, uh, because the person
S1: that was waiting on us started smiling, and he said, oh, okay. Uh, yes.
S1: And so got us two rooms and, you know, so afterward,
S1: I said, now, I never seen a black car that's
S1: a black. He said, oh, yeah, that's that's a black car.
S1: That's what it's called, a black car. I said, okay, well,
S1: you know, I don't get it. He said, well, you
S1: have $1 million line of credit. I said, I gotta
S1: get me one of those. He said, well, in order
S1: to get one, you got to spend $1 million. I said, oh, okay.
S1: Let's see. I looked at what the wife spins. It
S1: took me, what, maybe 4 or 5 years to get
S1: it up to a million. He said, no, you got
S1: to spend a million at one time. I said, oh, well,
S1: it's a good idea. And so there were some things
S1: I needed. And and he just said, look, look, he said,
S1: I got $1 million line of credit. Just go and
S1: help yourself. Whatever you need, get it. I needed the shirt,
S1: some other things and order dinner to the room. And so,
S1: you know, he told me, yeah, go ahead. And I
S1: intended to pay him back. So I, you know, I
S1: just went on and got a few things. And when
S1: I tried to pay him back, he said, he said
S1: to me, no, you can't pay me back. And I said, no,
S1: I need to pay you back. He said, no, you
S1: can't pay me back. See, you already paid me. I
S1: already pay you. You said thank you. That was payment enough, right? Well,
S1: you don't have to try to twist my arm to
S1: convince me, you know? And but I thought about it.
S1: I said, man, that's amazing. Here's somebody. Now I'm supposed
S1: to take them out. And all of a sudden now
S1: my credit card doesn't make it. And then I begin
S1: to think about it. I said, you know what some
S1: of us need to learn from what I went through? Uh,
S1: because all he expected for such a magnitude of generosity
S1: was an attitude of gratitude. Amen. He can't expect anything else.
S1: All he wanted me to do was say thank you.
S1: I couldn't pay him back and definitely couldn't match the
S1: limit on the credit card. Yeah, uh, but all it
S1: was was a thank you. That's it. Come here. See? See?
S1: You want a reservation in heaven and you put down
S1: your personal righteousness credit card and it came back. Declined. Uh, yeah. Yeah, yeah.
S1: I'm sorry. It's declined. You tried your works righteousness credit card, and, uh,
S1: you said my good deeds outweigh my bad deeds, and
S1: it came back. Declined. You put down your baptism credit card,
S1: and it came back declined. And so you put down your.
S1: My daddy was a deacon. My mama was on the
S1: mother's board. My relative knows Christ credit card, and it
S1: was declined. So you threw all your humanistic, self-righteous credit cards,
S1: and they all were declined because none of them would
S1: be able to get you a reservation in heaven. Yeah. Yeah. Mm.
S1: Then Jesus stepped up, and he didn't put down a
S1: black card. He put down a red car. Yeah, that's
S1: what he put down. He put down a red card.
S1: You see a black card? It covers you. Uh, but
S1: a red card, it covers la de da de. And
S1: everybody John 316 says, For God so loved the world
S1: that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth. See,
S1: a black card has $1 million ceiling. Uh, but a
S1: red card. Ephesians one three. You're blessed with all spiritual
S1: blessings in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Yeah, I got
S1: a red card. See, the black card covers your purchases. Uh,
S1: but the red card purchases you and covers you. And so. Jesus. Uh,
S1: he did it with his red card. Jesus paid it all.
S1: All to him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain.
S1: He washed me white as snow. Maybe that's why, uh,
S1: the writer said that I know it was the blood.
S1: I know it was the blood. I know it was
S1: the blood for me. One day when I was lost,
S1: he died upon the cross. I know it was the
S1: blood for me. And listen, Jesus said, you can't pay
S1: me back. You can't pay me back. I tell you what.
S1: All I want you to do is praise me. Amen.
S1: That's all I want you to do is give me
S1: some praise. All I want you to do is thank me.
S1: All I want you to do is lift me up.
S1: All I want you to do is magnify my name.
S1: All I ask you to do is shout to the Lord.
S1: All I ask you to do is to be grateful
S1: that your name is written in my blood, in my book,
S1: and you are going to live for all eternity. And
S1: it covers you in the past, the present, and the future.
S1: That's something that shout about.
S2: You're listening to Treasure Truth with Pastor Ford. A message
S2: called The Privilege of Worship. And as you've been listening
S2: to this teaching on Psalm 65, I hope that it's
S2: been encouraging you in your walk with Christ. If so,
S2: we'd love to hear about that. You can always drop
S2: us a note through our website, Treasure tree.org, or through
S2: social media like Facebook or Twitter. We recently heard from
S2: a listener named Carol who writes, thank you, Pastor Ford,
S2: for how much of the word of God you shared
S2: and expounded on today. You targeted my heart, made me cry,
S2: made me rejoice. May our loving Savior bless you. Well,
S2: thanks Carol for giving us some feedback and you can
S2: do so again through our website, npr.org. Click on the
S2: contact link or through social media. But right now, let's
S2: get back to the message. Here is Pastor Ford.
S1: Now I'm ready to quit. Amen. But I can't I
S1: gotta give you a little something. And so last week
S1: we saw in Psalm 65 he says, listen, you need
S1: to know that you have the privilege of worship. Why
S1: should a person take worship as a privilege? Number one,
S1: what we saw verse one last week because you come
S1: into his presence. Now see, that doesn't mean a whole
S1: lot to us. But what we looked at, we come
S1: into his presence and. And what does that mean? I
S1: am actually hooked up with the person of God. I
S1: am in the place of God for the praise of God.
S1: Now let's move on. Notice what he says. The second
S1: reason why we ought to see worship as a privilege.
S1: Verse two. Not only do you come into his presence,
S1: but you call on him in prayer. Notice what it
S1: says in verse two O thou that heareth prayer, unto
S1: thee shall all flesh come. Now, now get this verse one.
S1: What has to do with hollowed out Verse one. What
S1: would you see? Verse one. Last week. Who's here? Praise.
S1: What's he talking about now? Prayer. Here. The first thing
S1: I want you to see is the connection between verse
S1: one and verse two. You say what connection? Okay, here
S1: it is. We praise him so we can pray to him.
S1: I submit to you that verse one and verse two
S1: in this Psalm is connected because he wants us to understand.
S1: If you don't have a verse, one, you don't need
S1: a verse two that if you don't have a verse, one,
S1: you don't get a verse two that that you need
S1: to understand that what God wants from us is praise,
S1: and what God gives to us is provision. That if
S1: we don't have praise, we don't need to pray. Okay,
S1: you don't believe what I'm saying? In other words, his
S1: worship is connected to your wants. You go ahead and
S1: do it yourself. I'm not going to run the role,
S1: but look at how many people were in the context
S1: of worship, seeing God minister to their wants and minister
S1: to their needs. That while we're in the midst of
S1: the presence of God, God is going and touching people
S1: and moving and ministering by His Spirit. In other words,
S1: when I make him my priority, he makes my provision
S1: his priority. In other words, when I give God what
S1: he wants, God gives me what I want. You know,
S1: I just finished the book, but remember when we studied
S1: a new look at an old prayer in Matthew 16,
S1: the disciples prayer? Let me let me show you what
S1: I mean. Here's what the here's what the the the
S1: Bible says. Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be
S1: thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done. Notice
S1: what he says then it says, give us this day
S1: our daily bread and all the rest of em. Let me.
S1: Let me see if I can get you to understand it.
S1: Hallowed be thy name. That's God's person. Thy kingdom come.
S1: That's God's program. Thy will be done. That's God's plan.
S1: And so God says, listen, I want you to have
S1: my person program and plan as your priority. And when
S1: you do, here's what you get. Give us this day.
S1: Forgive us our debts. Lead us not. So. God says,
S1: when you when you have my person, program and plan
S1: as a priority, then I have your provision pardon and
S1: protection as my priority. And that's the way the whole
S1: prayer is set up. And you see it here in
S1: this Psalm, because sometimes we get the cart before the horse.
S1: In other words, why should God answer our prayer when
S1: we don't adore him? Hmm. Let me just say this.
S1: The problem in America is not with the sinners. Sinners
S1: sin because that's what sinners do. Why are we surprised?
S1: Some just do it better than others. That's it. No, no, no.
S1: But the problem is not with sinners. Let me say
S1: it again. What I've been saying the whole time. The
S1: answer is not going to come from the white House.
S1: The answer is not going to come from the state House.
S1: The answer is not going to come from the courthouse.
S1: It's only going to come from the church house. And
S1: so the problem in America is right in this room,
S1: because the Bible says Second Chronicles 714 if my people,
S1: which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and
S1: pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then,
S1: then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their
S1: sin and heal their land. No matter who's sitting in
S1: the Oval Office, God will still be sitting on the throne. Yeah.
S1: That's right. That's right. So it really doesn't matter. Here's
S1: another one that you probably won't like. And whoever's sitting
S1: in the Oval Office, God is the one who orchestrated it.
S1: And he orchestrated it for his purposes. Yeah, because Daniel
S1: chapter two says he's the one who sets up one
S1: king and pulls down another. And I'll tell you something else.
S1: Romans 13 tells us that we are obligated to obey
S1: the government. You know, it's like it's like, do you know,
S1: eternal lives matter? Yeah, yeah. Do you know that? Yeah.
S1: And so what what's happening? It is, it is we
S1: are to understand that worshiping God is a privilege. We
S1: can call on him in prayer. And the psalmist says
S1: worship is a privilege because I get to call on
S1: God in prayer. So let me go back to the oh,
S1: let me go back to the oh, look at the text.
S1: O thou that hearest prayer unto thee shall all flesh come. Now,
S1: last week, anybody want to stand up and tell us
S1: what O means? Exclamation point! Excitement, enthusiasm. So he says
S1: in verse one, praise Waiteth for thee. I can't wait
S1: to praise God. Hey, listen, how many of you understand
S1: that worship is not a spectator sport? It's a participatory
S1: sport that all of us ought to be engaged in worship.
S1: So here he says, oh, I'm excited about you, God,
S1: I'm waiting to praise you. Uh, but listen, he's as
S1: excited about prayer as he is about praise right over
S1: your head. Say, what are you talking about? That's what
S1: I see. He says we ought to be worshiping God
S1: for the privilege of being able to worship him, because
S1: we can come to him in prayer, and we are
S1: to be consistent. Now, some of you, uh, are not, uh, see,
S1: think about this. Uh, some of you like some of
S1: the songs that we sing, but not all the songs.
S1: Some of you like some of the verses about Jesus,
S1: but not all of them. Some of you like some
S1: of the sermons that I preach, but not all of them,
S1: because right now some of you are saying, I'll be
S1: glad when this is over. Uh, he go on back
S1: to relationship or something, you know, it's like, okay, I,
S1: I get it, I get it, I get it. Some
S1: of you going to lose your enthusiasm at offering time.
S1: Here's what he's saying. We ought to seek for a
S1: consistent life that that that we are to love prayer
S1: as much as we love praise. I'm just excited about
S1: prayer as I am about praise. I know some of
S1: you are not excited about prayer. How do you know that?
S1: Because you never come. You never come to prayer. I
S1: pray at home, but the Bible says we should pray
S1: together as a corporate church.
S2: You know, worship is a privilege. And hopefully this message
S2: from Pastor Ford is helping you see that with fresh eyes.
S2: You're listening to Treasure Truth, and you can find us
S2: online when you come to treasure Truth Radio. You know,
S2: as we're talking about prayer and worship, it's only natural
S2: to ask, how did these important aspects of our faith
S2: fit into your marriage? You know, it's so easy to
S2: make faith personal, and we don't know then how to
S2: invite our spouse in. But God designed marriage to be
S2: a partnership at the deepest level, a relationship founded upon
S2: God's own love and commitment to each of us. In
S2: the book Seven Reasons Why God Created Marriage, Pastor Ford
S2: takes an in-depth look at the biblical foundation of marriage,
S2: a look that will help you have a God honoring
S2: relationship with your husband or wife. You can request a
S2: copy of this book When you give a gift of
S2: any amount to treasure truth. Read it on your own
S2: or use it as a basis for a study with
S2: your small group or Sunday school class. Call us at
S2: 888 644 7660 or go online to Treasure Truth Radio.com.
S2: And if you're growing by being exposed to this teaching
S2: on treasure truth, maybe today's the day that you take
S2: that next step in your support and become a monthly partner.
S2: Automating your giving is easy to do when you go
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S2: I'm Steve Hiller. Our producer is Amy Rios. Join us
S2: again next time as we go deeper in the study
S2: on the privilege of worship with Pastor Ford. That's here
S2: on Treasure Truth. A production of Moody Radio, a ministry
S2: of Moody Bible Institute.